


Free The Fish!

by ericsonclan



Series: We are Monsters, We are Proud AU [11]
Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Creatures & Monsters, Aquariums, F/M, Fish
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-03
Updated: 2020-08-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:34:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25695100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ericsonclan/pseuds/ericsonclan
Summary: Mitch and Brody go on their second date to the aquarium when Mitch decides to do something big to make Brody smile.
Relationships: Brody/Mitch (Walking Dead: Done Running)
Series: We are Monsters, We are Proud AU [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1699969
Kudos: 4





	Free The Fish!

**Author's Note:**

> (by Laura)

“I’m so glad we were able to make it work to meet up today,” Brody’s bright voice had Mitch’s stomach doing somersaults within him. He felt utterly captivated by the feeling of her tiny hand in his. He was trying his best to take in everything she was saying as they made their way through the aquarium, but his heart was thumping so hard in his ears at the realization that they were actually on their second date that he sometimes forgot what he’d just heard.

Brody gasped excitedly, pulling Mitch along as she ran toward a cylindrical tank full of seahorses. “Look at all of them! Oh, they’re too precious!” Her eyes practically sparkled as she watched them drift around.

“Were there lots of seahorses where you grew up? In your…” Mitch paused as he realized he had no idea what a group of selkies would be called.

“In my rookery?” Brody shook her head. “The waters were too cold for them in the waters we frequented. I always thought they sounded so pretty though. Sometimes I’d wish we could live near a coral reef so I could witness all the different tropical creatures up close and in person. Then again…” She tugged her seal pelt closer around her shoulders, “I don’t know if that could compare to the peacefulness of the open expanses we swam in. A reef might end up being too busy for me with all the different creatures running around and bumping into each other,”

“Do you still miss it?” Mitch realized it was a stupid question as soon as he asked it, but he couldn’t take it back.

Brody seemed to consider it seriously though. “I mean, part of me will always miss it. It’s where I grew up. But my mom was right that I should learn to live in both worlds: on land as well as in the sea. And now that I’ve made friends here, it’s really become a second home,” The smile on her face at those words made Mitch’s heart melt. He could feel his tail curling against his leg. He hoped it wouldn’t weird her out if it accidentally brushed against her.

“Wanna go see the otters next? We did have those where I grew up. They’re super sweet, though they’re sort of food hogs,”

“Wherever you want to go,”

Brody paused, looking momentarily concerned. “You are having a good time, right? I know the aquarium isn’t exactly the most exciting place to go,”

“Are you kidding? I love it here! Fish, sharks, I love all that shit. And I mean shit in like a positive sense,” Mitch quickly amended, growing flustered.

“I’m glad,” Brody’s hand in his was warm as they continued along the walkway, flanked by enormous aquarium walls on each side.

As they passed a small crowd standing in front of the octopus exhibit, Mitch noticed a mother reflexively pull her child closer to her. It sort of hurt, but at the same time he couldn’t blame her. 

Growing up as a minotaur, he’d gotten used to being perceived as a threat. The looks that annoyed him more were the ones he’d seen peers his own age giving him and Brody throughout the day. Brody could almost pass as human if not for the seal pelt round her shoulders, but Mitch could never hope to blend in. His horns and tail were a dead giveaway. Everyone knew that human-monster relationships did exist, but they were extremely rare. Still, what he and Brody were to each other was their own damn business.

 _I wonder if Brody knows what we are,_ Mitch mused as he followed her. _I mean, we both agreed that the thing at the coffee shop was a date, but what does that make us now? Two dates in is too early to put a label on things, right?_ In truth, he wouldn’t mind calling Brody his girlfriend, even if it was fast. He’d had a thing for her ever since he’d caught sight of her big blue eyes that day she helped him free his horns from the hallway wall. But he wanted to be considerate of Brody’s feelings too. Calling her his girlfriend too early might scare her off and that would fucking suck.

They’d reached the aquarium with the otters. Brody sat down on one of the provided benches excitedly, scooting over further so Mitch could sit with her. She looked happy as the show started, watching the otters perform all their tricks, diving into the water or high fiving their trainers for treats. As the show continued though, a more serious, pensive look came across her face.

“Is the show boring you?” Mitch asked. “We can leave if you want,” He was enjoying it, but if Brody was uncomfortable, he was more than happy to head out.

“No, it’s not that. It’s just… I guess I feel a sort of connection with these particular otters,”

“How’s that?”

“They ended up here at the aquarium for a variety of reasons, but none of them actually volunteered to live here. They were all placed here by humans who figured they knew what was best for them. Who knows if these otters have spouses or children they were forced to leave out there alone? Sometimes it feels like that’s how I ended up at Ericson High too. I didn’t want to leave the sea, but my dad wanted to start raising me more like a human and my mom agreed it would be a good learning experience. Not that I’m mad I’m here now, but still it would’ve been nice to have a say in the matter,”

Mitch wasn’t sure what to say to that. He’d never exactly been the most eloquent with words and he didn’t want to say something that would end up hurting Brody rather than helping. Instead, he settled for patting her shoulder a few times before his hand came to rest there. He felt too self-conscious to draw it back and Brody seemed to be fine with it, so he let his hand rest there till the show came to an end. 

Once it was over, Brody rose to her feet, looking around them. “I think there’s an outdoor section to the aquarium as well. Would you like to visit it?”

“Sounds cool,” Mitch walked alongside Brody, wondering if he should reach for her hand again. It had taken all of his guts to do it the first time. He didn’t know if doing it again would be too much. He was surprised when he felt something warm brush against his hand and realized Brody was reaching for it. He grasped hers eagerly, hoping he hadn’t surprised her too much with his eagerness. When he looked down at her she seemed happy though, almost peaceful. He was glad. 

The first exhibit they came across was actually one with birds: a lorikeet forest. They walked through it hand in hand, joking and pointing out preening and flying birds to compare to their harpy friends Minnie and Sophie. There was a station in there which sold some sort of sugar water that the lorikeets liked to drink. It didn’t cost much so Mitch bought two cups. He ended up giving them both to Brody so he could get pictures of all the birds as they flocked to drink from the cups she held. A few birds landed on Mitch’s horns too, prompting Brody to set aside her cups temporarily so she could capture the moment on her phone. Mitch felt a little embarrassed by the whole thing, but it was worth it to see Brody’s smile.

Eventually they found themselves at the open tank exhibits. There were several pools of water raised only a few feet high so that children could look over into the water and observe horseshoe crabs and manta rays swim round. More adventurous youngsters could even run their fingers tentatively across the surface of the creatures’ backs. Brody and Mitch walked amongst the pools, looking into each one.

“These poor guys must be tired,” Brody noted with a sympathetic smile. “I know it would drive me crazy is every five minutes I had hands coming out of nowhere, poking at me while I’m minding my own business,”

Mitch nodded thoughtfully. It was a similar sentiment to the one Brody had shared back at the otter exhibit. Here were more creatures minding their own business when nosy humans had to come along, drag them away from their homes and use them for their own personal amusement. It wasn’t fair. In fact, it fucking sucked. Maybe it was time somebody did something about it.

Looking around, Mitch noticed they were near the sea lion exhibit. Ideally, he’d break them all out since he figured seeing them captive felt like seeing relatives behind bars to Brody. But he knew that would get shut down pretty fast. Security around them was intense. He did notice a few buckets though that had been left out by trainers after the last show. Normally they held snacks for the sea lions, but right now they were empty. Mitch could feel the gears turning in his head as they made their way over to them.

“Well, I think we’ve seen almost everything. Ready to call it a day?” Brody turned to him with an easy smile.

“In just a sec. First, there’s something I have to do,”

“Oh? What’s that?”

“This,” Without another word, Mitch grabbed one of the chum buckets, racing back to the open aquarium pools. He thrust the bucket into the water, scooping up as many horseshoe crabs as he could in one go. “Free the fish!” he yelled, laughing maniacally as he ran toward the exit. He would find these horseshoe crabs a new, better home as soon as he figured out where the fuck their natural habitat was. This was for Brody. He hoped she was watching.

\----

“Well, that certainly was something,” Brody said softly as the two of them walked out the aquarium’s front doors.

“I didn’t even get 100 yards before they fucking tackled me,” Mitch groaned, rolling his neck and hearing a series of pops. “At least they caught the bucket before it fell on the pavement,”

“It was a very sweet gesture,” Brody smiled up at him brightly. “A bit crazy, but your heart was in the right place,”  
Mitch smiled down at her. “I just wanted to see you happy. I knew seeing all those sea creatures in captivity sort of bummed you out. At least I didn’t get you banned for life from the aquarium though,”

“We’ll find other aquariums to go to,” Brody replied, playfully nudging his arm. “You’re picking the location for our next date,”

A goofy grin spread across Mitch’s face. “There’s going to be another date?”

“Of course! What, did you think that getting beat up by aquarium security was going to scare me off?” Brody’s expression softened. “I know I’ve talked a lot today about missing home, but the truth is if my mom came here tomorrow and told me I was leaving, I’d be sad about that too. I’d miss Willy and Ruby and Clem an awful lot… but I think I’d miss you the most of all, Mitch. I could travel through all the world’s oceans and I don’t think I’d ever find anyone quite like you,”

Mitch felt his face heating up at her words. “I think you’re totally awesome, Brody. Like, the best,”

Brody seemed somewhat flustered by his words. “Thanks, Mitch. I-I think you’re the best too,”

As they made their way to the truck to drive back home, Mitch felt a happiness deep inside him that he’d never experienced before. 

Brody was special. If he could, he wanted to keep her by his side for a long, long time.


End file.
